Category Archives: League Cup

West Ham United produced a scintillating display to rally from two goals down to beat Tottenham by 3-2 and reach the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

Things started in the worst possible way for them at Wembley, with the Hammers conceding after just five minutes as a high defensive line was exploited by Son Heung-min’s pass through to Moussa Sissoko to stroke home for Spurs.

Dele Alli then doubled the lead for Spurs just before half-time through a deflected shot to put West Ham’s London rivals in a comfortable position.

But the interval seemed to be what West Ham needed to rally from their awkward position, with striker Andre Ayew beginning the turnaround by converting after stand-in keeper Michel Vorm parried Edimilson Fernandes’ thunderous drive and the Ghanaian poked home the second following Manuel Lanzini’s cutback.

It was also the Argentine’s whipped corner into the box that was another important contribution which completed the recovery as Angelo Ogbonna rose highest to flick in towards the far post.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, who had been under close scrutiny after a drubbing by Brighton in the Premier League last Friday, lauded his team’s performance.

“To score three goals against them (Tottenham) — who do not concede goals — then be brave and compact and good on the ball, we deserved it and it is a big boost for us,” he said.

“The mood was down at half-time, but not as down as against Brighton. That result was bad but we played good football. We did not penetrate Spurs enough, were not good in the final third and we said things about what we should do when they and ourselves have the ball.”

Liverpool manager said he feels “really sick” with Liverpool’s defending after they conceded two poor goals. during a damaging defeat against Leicester City in the third round of the League Cup.

The Reds were also knocked out from the League Cup altogether after their 2-0 loss at Leicester, with the defeat also capping off a streak of four winless games in all competitions for the Merseyside club — a streak which also saw them concede 10 goals.

Despite making eight changes to the team that drew 1-1 against Burnley in the Premier League during the weekend, registering 21 shots at the King Power Stadium on top of 70% possession, Klopp’s team yielded no goals in the League Cup fixture.

Instead, it was Leicester who found the breakthrough at 69 minutes through Shinji Okazaki, which came after Liverpool failed to clear a corner and conceded yet another goal through set pieces — a problem that has plagued Liverpool since Klopp took over the club from Brendan Rodgers in 2015.

12 minutes later, Islam Slimani’s doubled Leicester’s lead through a superb left-footed shot following a throw-in, which in turn found the top-corner and effectively took the game out of Liverpool hands.

“The story of this game is really easy to tell,” Klopp said after the game, lamenting familiar failings. “We were the much better team in the first half, we didn’t score — that’s sometimes part of football. It was unlucky in one or two moments, maybe not clinical enough in others. But as long as we concede goals like we conceded today again, then it is quite difficult.”

“We should have scored three but as long as you leave games open, you have to defend. We always have to defend these situations better. The second ball after the corner, it’s close but it’s not offside. So we need to make it more clear that it’s offside.”

“The only thing you can do is to push up — we didn’t. With the second one it is a throw-in again. Everyone can imagine we know how to defend them but obviously we don’t do it, because always somebody else is doing it. It doesn’t feel too cool but it’s the truth.”

Southampton, last season’s finalists of the EFL Cup, were eliminated from the tournament after their 2-0 second round home defeat by Championship side Wolves.

In what was Wolves’s third win against Premier League sides this calendar year, Danny Batth headed in Ivan Cavaleiro’s corner in the 67th minute and substitute Donovan Wilson made it 2-0 with three minutes left.

It also came despite the fact that the Wolves manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, fielded an entirely different roster after his team’s defeat against Cardiff City on Saturday.

“I’m very proud, it’s fantastic work from my players, the way they prepared,” said Nuno. “It’s not about building a team, it’s about a squad, and they showed there’s no starting XI at Wolves. For us it’s about creating a squad, growing their own identity and being able to perform like this.”

“We know Donovan, he’s been performing well and training with us for some time. He has scored a goal here, but he will be back with the under-23s. Nothing changes for Donovan. I’ve done this throughout my career, giving players chances, but only at the right times.”

As for Southampton, they were far outshone by their opponents after six changes were made to the squad who defeated West Ham 3-2 last weekend in the Premier League.

But as the EFL Cup renews with the new season, the live draw which took place in the Sky Sports studios by Alex McLeish and John Salako, alongside the host Julian Warren, left many confused as four second-round matches were announced with the incorrect team away from home.

Initially, the draw was to select seeded teams, followed by whether they would be at home or away and then finally, their opposition. However, it was not until after Salako said Norwich would be away to Charlton that he appeared to realise the previous matches had been drawn the wrong way around.

Following the adjustment, it was decided that Newcastle will host Nottingham Forest, with Bournemouth and Leicester City playing away to Birmingham and Sheffield United respectively, among six ties with Premier League sides facing Championship opposition. Another seven Premier League teams involved in European competition will enter at round three.